The new eCitaro has been operating scheduled services through Hamburg since December. Drivers and passengers are making new discoveries. On the road on the 1871.
นิตยสาร Omnibus
On the road in the
whisper-quiet bus
Service report: eCitaro.
On the road in the whisper-quiet bus.
Service report: eCitaro.
Joachim Will is testing new city buses on Route 24 operated by Hamburger Hochbahn AG. “The route has the ideal conditions for the first services. Lots of passengers, plenty of traffic, tight timing and a length of 30 kilometres,” says Will, describing the conditions. The Hochbahn test driver performs three full service runs there with every bus type. After that, no questions about the vehicle remain unanswered. At the end of November last year, the Hamburg operator took delivery of the first eCitaro buses. Immediately after that, Joachim Will completed his first runs. When Will is not testing buses, he is putting operating instructions together for his colleagues and delivering training sessions. He is one of those indispensable allrounders. Above all, he is passionate about driving city buses, having done so now for 33 years for Hochbahn.
Today, in February, Will is driving the eCitaro 1871 on a scheduled service on Route 174. He accelerates briefly, and then takes his foot off the pedal; the bus rolls along. The engine near the rear axle also sings quietly. The loudest noise on board is the heater blower, which soon heats up the passenger compartment at the outset; then, there is silence. At the Fuhlsbüttel bus stop, a dozen passengers get on. All dutifully show their bus pass. As a three-door bus with pivot-and-slide door in the middle, a large standing platform and 25 seats, the 1871 is set up for a fast flow of passengers. The double monitor at the top on the cross-channel shows the next destination on the right whilst a film explains electromobility on the left.
“the best place in a bus is still up front on the left”
The bus thrusts itself into the road from the bus stop. “The linear acceleration and braking is pleasant for driver and passengers,” says Joachim Will. It saves time, because on the smoothly running eCitaro the passengers move towards the door earlier before getting off. That adds up to important seconds at every stop. Will is pleased about the chassis: “The bus doesn’t sway despite having batteries on the roof. The developers did a great job.”
In the meantime, the streets get narrower, and turning manoeuvres become more frequent. No problem: Will knows around 30 Hamburg bus routes by heart. Route 174 turns round at the Tegelsbarg stop. Before and after it, green islands with trees in the road force the bus to do a slalom – a prime discipline for the eCitaro. “They made an excellent chassis,” the driver enthuses once again. The passengers also like it: “The bus is so quiet; you feel like you’re flying,” an older lady says with delight. And when she finds out she is riding in an electric bus: “So you are even doing something for the environment by buying a ticket.”
Some young people get on at the Wesselstraat stop. Joachim Will gives an everyday report from the quiet eCitaro: “If a mobile phone rings, you can hear it throughout the bus.” No diesel engine drones. Conversations are muted: “They only whisper.” A passenger tells a similar story: “You don’t feel any vibration at the back, and it is quiet.” At the Müssenredder stop, a young woman with a pram brandishes her bus pass whilst flagging down the bus. Joachim Will gives a friendly wave and lets her get on in the middle. After the Alte Landstrasse stop, the road goes downhill slightly – a splendid rolling stretch. With no foot on the pedal the eCitaro glides almost weightlessly for hundreds of metres, rolling across the next crossroads with the lights green to the next stop.
Shortly afterwards, the test run comes to an end at the Poppenbüttel stop – a hub with a transfer station covered by a futuristic roof. It’s a piece of art, just like the eCitaro. Joachim Will greets colleague drivers who are taking a break in the sunshine. “They all want to drive the eCitaro,” the bus driver grins with passion, before adding, “the best place in a bus is still up front on the left.” Then, it is time to return.
In the depot, Joachim Will hooks the eCitaro up to a quick charging station, where electricity races into the batteries at 150 kilowatts. The display on the dashboard shows how the current level of the batteries rises quickly. “It will go back out at midday,” announces Joachim Will. The eCitaro 1871 has not yet finished for the day.
